


Penumbra - Epilogue

by Fluffysminion



Series: Lost in a Dream of Mirrors [7]
Category: Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Dark Heresy - Freeform, Holy Inquistion, Imperium of Man - Freeform, Other, Penumbra (demon world), Port Caius, inquisitorial acolyte
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 02:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20940452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffysminion/pseuds/Fluffysminion
Summary: When the mission is over, what life remains for a mutated inquisitorial acolyte and his adopted family?





	Penumbra - Epilogue

It was not easy for Jaspar to leave the team to make the final leg of the journey without him, despite having made the decision back when he had first seen Nikota’s solid black eyes. Pear was right, it was a betrayal of the imperium and of much that he had once stood for, but he couldn’t lead his new family to a likely death, nor abandon them to face the alien nature of realspace alone. He owed them more than that. At least Genevive had understood, he was very glad that she’d caught him leaving so he’d had a chance to say goodbye. 

And then he was gone, having left his arbiter’s armour and the few possessions he had started out with that hadn’t been lost or stolen cleaned and neatly packed in labelled bags so that they could be returned to the proper authorities. Later on it would occur to him that this could be seen as a deeply symbolic gesture, but at the time it had just seemed unthinkable for him to take things that didn’t belong to him.

Adjusting to life outside of the warp was difficult, far more so than he had expected. Even on the fringes of society people were reluctant to associate with the monster he’d become, and in the first few months he grew rapidly; he had to relearn how to keep track of time before he could learn how frequently it was safe for him to eat. But with time he found people who were willing to give them a chance, and gradually he found ways to get some sort of control over his hunger. There was a lot he wanted to show Nikota and Karger about existence beyond Penumbra, but he proceeded slowly, in part because he had learnt the lessons of that world too well. It was a long time before he was willing to let either of them out of his sight, and part of him never stopped expecting to see Petriv, Elizabeth and the others around every corner.

He thought often of the other acolytes, and each year on the anniversary of the translation back into realspace he would check for the astropathic message from Genevive. They were usually short, and understandably devoid of details, but he found it comforting to be reminded that her life continued, and that she remembered him. He only sent a reply once, a message consisting only of the words “thank you”, with no name attached. He didn’t dare risk sending anything more than that. He hoped that the others had found lives they could be happy with, and that Elizabeth had found the death she desired. Sometimes he regretted not having tried harder to convince her to leave with him, but he usually concluded that it was better this way. There was no glory to be found where he hid in the darkness.

It was a life ruled by fear and hunger, and the things hunger drove him to, but it was a life. He had a family, people to love and be loved by, which was all he had ever wanted. It was a better ending than many he had hoped for.


End file.
